Five Bold Ideas on Employment to Supplement the American Jobs Act

1. Reimagine Global Supply Chains. Trade-ables, i.e., the things we sell to other countries, are produced via complex supply chains dependent on modern infrastructure and vast stores of energy and natural resources. America doesn’t make – can’t make – the cheapest goods. We must make innovative products without polluting the environment or relying on low-cost labor and working conditions. We need to re-imagine global supply chains along the lines envisioned by the UN’s John Ruggie , “father” of the UN Principles on Business and Human Rights, rethink how water impacts production as explained by the author of “The Wal-mart Effect” and “The Big Thirst,” Charles Fishman , and how sustainability creates lasting competitive advantages as articulated by Boston Consulting’s Martin Reeves.